Page:Sarah Sheppard - L. E. L.pdf/71

 Oh never had the poet's lute a hope, An aim so glorious, as it now may have In this our social state, where petty cares And mercenary interests only look Upon the present's littleness, and shrink From the bold future, and the stately past; Where the smooth surface of society Is polished by deceit, and the warm heart With all its kind affections' early flow, Flung back upon itself, forgets to beat, At least for others;—’tis the poet's gift To melt these frozen waters into tears By sympathy with sorrows not our own, By waking memory with those mournful notes Whose music is the thoughts of early years, When truth was on the lip, and feelings wore The sweetness and the freshness of their morn." Miscellaneous Poems. Venetian Bracelet, p. 251.

It is the poet's aim to awaken our sympathies, to remind us that—

We do too little feel each other's pain, We do too much relax the social chain That binds us to each other; slight the care There is for grief in which we have no share." Golden Violet, p. 197.

—to strengthen the mind and refresh the heart by bringing before us thoughts—

That waken some more lofty mood Than dwelleth with the common-place of life."

—and to elevate and dignify our nature by pointing out the highest sources of instruction and happiness:—

Not with the world to teach us, may we learn The Spirit's noblest lessons. Hope and Faith Are stars that shine amid the far-off heaven, Dimmed and obscured by vapours from below; Impatient selfishness, and shrewd distrust, Are taught us in the common ways of life; Dust is beneath our feet, and at our side